St. Louisans decry the terror of war in Gaza and Israel

In the past 18 days of violence between Israel and Hamas that has plunged the region into full-fledged war, people in the St. Louis area have taken to the streets, prayed, held rallies and lobbied their local governments.

Most of the large public demonstrations have been in support of Palestinians bombarded during Israel’s attacks on Hamas targets in heavily populated areas in Gaza, and in support of their decadeslong struggle for a Palestinian state.

Public responses from elected officials — including a majority of the region's congressional delegation — have been largely supportive of Israel and critical of Hamas, which launched an attack on Israeli settlements on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostages.

Local pro-Palestinian demonstrators and those who gathered to support Israel, despite their differences, share a message: concern for their loved ones.

“I've lost a village. My family is from there. I have in-laws there right now. We're hoping that they stay safe,” Lena Ramadan, whose family is from Gaza, said at an Oct. 15 downtown St. Louis rally for Palestinians that drew close to 2,000 people. “It's dangerous and it's scary and nobody feels safe.”